Chaz,
Before I respond to your concern about Microsoft invading Siebel's terf, I'm copying the exact quote below:
And Microsoft has yet to offer a product for the booming customer-relationship management market, which is now dominated by the likes of Siebel Systems and Vignette.
First, if the implication is that Siebel and Vignette are in the same business, they're not.
Second, because the CRM market is expected to be larger than the ERP market, I would expect new competitors to want their piece of the pie. Anyone worried about the possibility of Softie invading the territory is probably also concerned that IBM, Oracle, Baan, and SAP are already doing that. And there's a strong possibility that PeopleSoft will end their relationships with Vantive and Siebel to provide even more competition.
What do I say? Bring 'em on. This is a gorilla game in progress. Right now Siebel has the best shot, by an 18-month technology lead and a huge market-share lead, at being the gorilla. Things will get better or worse for Siebel, but I doubt things will stay the same. It'll be fun watching and I think it'll also be profitable for Siebel investors over the long term.
To change the subject, someone (my apologies for not remembering who) asked yesterday about companies that provide software for enabling transactions and managing customers on the Net. Vignette is a great company to look at. I don't know if they are the leaders, but they've got a great concept and the technology to make it happen. Anyone interested should also do a search at the Motley Fool for an interview of Vignette's CEO not long ago. Sorry I didn't remember this yesterday when the subject came up.
--Mike Buckley
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